


Crystal clear like the truth

by rayssalovesrosegarden



Category: RWBY
Genre: Fanart, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, How Do I Tag, I was just staring at my crystal, Older Ruby Rose (RWBY), Parent Qrow Branwen, Qrow Branwen is Ruby Rose's Parent, Reconciliation, The first RWBY fanfic I post, after defeating Salem, and suddenly I had a 3k fanfic, cuz I have more than 10 I'm working on now, everyone is fucked up after the final battle, humming bird, implied rosegarden, kinda angsty, written by a non native speaker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:08:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22866100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rayssalovesrosegarden/pseuds/rayssalovesrosegarden
Summary: After the final battle against Salem, Qrow decides to open up with Ruby about their past, about Summer. It's time to talk to his daughter about how everything came to be and about the real bounds they share.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen & Ruby Rose, Qrow Branwen/Summer Rose, Ruby Rose & Summer Rose, Taiyang Xiao Long & Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 2
Kudos: 58





	Crystal clear like the truth

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there everyone. this is the first fanfic I post here, i hope ya'll enjoy it. again, I'm not a native speaker so please correct me if i spell something wrong or if thre's any mistake here, okay? so, the art is also mine and if you want to see more of my art, my tumblr is @fourkidsandapainontheback. some of my drawings are there. okay, so, have a good reading!

Qrow swallowed hard his words, remembering what he just got himself into. 

_He stepped inside the small place, a little room with one glass door that allowed the light to enter in the little closed shrine that they had at the building where they had been staying. The fight, the official fight, against Salem was coming. And he didn't want to die without telling her the truth. Speaking of which, there she was, standing by the same door and in front of the wooden shrine. The soft yellow and orange light of the sun illuminated half of her — still short — figure. She seemed to not have heard the man entering._

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_Ruby held one of the objects that were displayed in the shelves. It was a crystal the size of a tennis ball that filtered the warm light of the setting sun and reflected little rainbows by the other side. Apparently, the crystal was believed to filter the bad feelings and thoughts and purify them into good things. Qrow stepped closer, making the wooden floor creak and warn the young girl about who was there. She looked over her shoulder and smiled when her gentle silver eyes found her uncle. The Rose turned slowly to look at him properly. For a second, Qrow felt his words getting caught up in his throat._

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_"Hey, kiddo." He smiled warmly, tucking his hands on his pockets and shifting his weight from one leg to another. The Branwen just pushed aside the thought that he wasn't going to be able to call Ruby like that for much more time, as she was just some months from turning twenty. "Listen, if we somehow manage to defeat Salem and make it out alive out of this madness, I want to talk about something with you, 'kay?" He wished his voice wasn't as shaky as it sounded to him. Fear was the last thing he wanted to show his daughter, and now wasn't the moment to feel afraid._

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_"You don't need to worry, Uncle Qrow. We will defeat Salem and you're going to tell me whatever's on your mind. That's a promise." Her silver eyes were locked on his blood red ones as her determinated words were directed to him. Ruby gave his hands a light squeeze so he would feel her confidence and then walked out the shrine, going back to her friends that were waiting outside._

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_Qrow followed his said niece with his eyes, staying still in the same position. Once Ruby was out of his sight, he looked down to his hands. The object sparkled in the sun light like the soft waves in a calm sea. It was so calming and hypnotic that the Huntsman just suddenly forgot about his nervousness and anxiety. The small rainbows that started to form on the palm of his hand made him feel like hope was not so far away from them. From him. He smiled, just seeing so much from Summer in Ruby. Before leaving, Qrow sat the crystal in it's place again, taking a deep breath and following to where everyone was. No more hesitation. Not anymore._

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_A dark blur passing by the background called his attention once he stepped out of the small shrine. From the shade of the building, he could observe a crow nest in one of the trees not so far from them. The bird had only one hatchling, and that one seemed already pretty big. The daddy bird looked from afar, being sure that the little bird had enough courage to try and fly by itself while he was still there in case it needed. Qrow smiled again and shook his head, finally noticing that someone from the two teams had spoken with him._

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'It was just four days ago.' the man thought to himself after replaying the memories in his mind. And they had, indeed, managed to defeat the witch. And everyone was alive, even if the majority was dressed up in bandages and medical supplies, recovering themselves. And there he was, standing, looking at Ruby's back while she leaned over the balcony of the place they were all resting. The night above them looked like a upside down ocean, dark and deep. The stars flickered around, no sight of the shattered moon they knew so well. 

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She was looking up, observing the view. Her head had bandages around it, her right broken arm was involved in a layer of sling and cast to make it heal in the right place. There were many other stitches and black and blue bruises around her whole body and another layer of sling and cast plastered around her broken right leg. Not that Qrow was in a better shape, some of his wounds matched hers. Bandages around his wrist and chest, going up to his shoulder and neck. He was lucky that the cut in his throat was not so bad and could be quickly healed by the Aura that Jaune amplified in his body. He almost lost the sight from his left eye. Even more lucky. He felt paralyzed at the sight of his daughter, but had to keep going. He had to tell her.

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"Hey there, Pipsqueak." His voice sounded way deeper now and more sore. Maybe because the nurses just told him that he should wait some more days before going around gabbing. Ruby immediately turned her torso to look to him and smiled fondly. Her face was covered with black and blue marks, but even so, she offered him her best smile. 

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"Uncle Qrow!" The girl called with enthusiasm, one of her hands still held onto the balcony for balance. "Good to see you walking." Her bright smile turned into a more teasing grin, but it was still visible that genuine happiness was the base of it. 

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"Huh, same goes for you. Who helped you get out of bed?" The man shook his head and walked to his niece's side, leaning over the balcony as well. Qrow lifted his eyes to look to the sky. The bugs buzzed from the trees around them. It was calm and the breeze made the weather feel more fresh. 

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"Yang did. Oscar is still recovering from breaking his tibia and Weiss refuses to leave her bed." The girl told her uncle, though her eyes were far away. 

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"Figured." Qrow nodded to himself. They remained in silence for some moments until he spoke one more time. "Ruby, do you remember what I said, about wanting to talk to you?" When she heard him calling by her name, not by nickname or just by 'you', the silver eyed young woman turned her face to Qrow, a more neutral expression as she nodded.

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"Yes. What is it?" Ruby turned her torso again so she was completely turned to the Huntsman in front of her. She saw Qrow gulping and looking like he suddenly forgot how to talk. She crossed her arms, feeling slightly worried. "Is it bad?" The Huntress asked.

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"Well, that's up for you to decide." He averted his eyes, avoiding to look directly to the girl that looked so curious and worried in front of him. After moments of more silence and thinking how he would say everything he needed subtly, Qrow finally spoke. "Look, did anyone ever say that you looked like me?" Ruby tilted her head at the question, but slowly, a smile appeared in her lips as she remembered. 

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"Oh, yeah! Someone even said like 'you look so much like your uncle that it even bothers'." Ruby giggled lightly, the tips of her hair moving around with her movement.

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"Who said that?" He couldn't help but smile at the way she laughed and the sentence. It sounded like something Ozpin would say.

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"It was professor Ozpin, some time after I first arrived at Beacon." With the same bright smile, she turned to the old bird, who's eyebrows raised when he heard who had said it.

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"Hah, you're lucky that the old wizard is out of your boyfriend's head now, or he'd get punched on the face again. This time, with the hand with the rings on." Qrow raised his right hand and closed it in a fist, showing the rings on his fingers. Ruby shook her head, trying to hold the need to laugh.

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"But that was the hand you punched him before! You're a righty, have you forgotten?" Her shoulders went up and down as she laughed loudly. 

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And even with the warm sounds of Ruby's giggles, Qrow Branwen still felt a cold feeling, making him turn his face away from her. He sighed again.

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"And, did someone ever mistake me for your father?" His voice was lower now, like if his diaphragm was trying to stop him before it was too late. But it was not happening. Qrow was determined to tell Ruby about the one secret he never told to more than four people in his whole life.

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"Sure thing! I remember my first year at Signal, my classmates thought you were my father and were all trying to figure out why my last name was not like Mr. Branwen's, so they came to ask me and I didn't think that they were talking about you so I just said 'I don't know. I got my mom's last name' and then they never asked again." The Rose shrugged, remembering how everything happened and laughing lightly. The air blew between them when silence fell over the two.

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"Yeah, Taiyang wanted your last name to be something that remembered your mother." Once he spoke, Ruby quickly turned her head to Qrow with curiosity. She haven't heard a lot from her mother or Taiyang in a long time. "I was mad for a week that he registered your name without telling me anything. Especially since your mother wanted your last name to be Branwen." Suddenly, her brows furrowed in a quizzical look.

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Something like muscle memory made the black haired man try to reach for where his flask used to be in his pocket, but he was able to hold himself. Not only there was no flask there, because he'd been sober for almost three years now, but also because the alcohol wasn't going to be a part of this conversation. It was between him and his daughter, no one else. Ruby's eyes looked down, and finally, the gears turned in her head. She shot Qrow with a surprised and incredulous look, as if she was still confuse.

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"Look, if you stay silent for a bit, I'll tell you everything and then answer your questions." Qrow gestured with his hand open, asking for her to calm down. Ruby took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a second and then turning back to the Huntsman. "So, more than twenty years ago, Summer and I were preparing to get married." He opened his hand and looked at his fingers again, playing with one of the silver rings on his forth finger of his right hand.

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"That was when Yang was born. And when Raven ran away. Tai managed to take care of his newborn daughter by himself in the first week, but after that, things started to get messy, so we decided to go give him a hand. Ozpin always had a ton of missions for me, so Summer stayed with baby Yang more than I did. And with that, we both agreed that we didn't need a big ceremony to get married. After all, we already had everything, the rings, the house, the family." Qrow was still staring into nothing while Ruby listened to him, breathing rapidly as her anxiety was starting to reach to her head.

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"And then, that family grew bigger when Summer discovered that she was pregnant. Gods, I was so happy that Tai thought I wanted to bring the house down." He laughed without humor, sighing when the memories started to flash inside his mind. 

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"But it was... Complicated. With my Semblance and Salem's forces trying to get to us, we needed to think thoroughly about our next steps. So we would live with Yang and Taiyang for the time being and I would focus almost entirely on my missions, so maybe, we could finally defeat Salem, and we could raise you two in a better world." For one second, he dared to turn his eyes to Ruby by his side. Her mouth was slightly open, but Qrow knew she wasn't about to say anything. 

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"That was when we decided your name and your mother would want your last name to be Branwen. I was against. After all, there were only two Branwens in the world, and Salem knew both of them. If there was a third, she'd probably be able to get to you. I even explained why naming you like that wasn't a good idea, but as usual, she wouldn't listen to me. 'I'll name her with your last name for better or for worse'." Qrow shook his head, a husky laugh escaping his mouth. But it didn't last. His expression softened to a more neutral one, to hide his emotions. 

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"And then one day, she suddenly wasn't home. At the begging, I thought she was on a mission or went to buy something for you and didn't think too much of it. But she would've told me. And even if I thought that she wouldn't follow Raven's steps, it was just, unusual. Then, I realized what had just happened. She had marched to Salem's realm to try to end her by herself. I turned into a bird and flew to Beacon to talk with Ozpin if he was the one that sent her in that suicidal mission, but he was just as surprised and worried as I was, saying that Summer had a maternity leave and she wasn't authorized to go in any missions. I was frantic by that time, starting to consider finding Raven so she could shove me in the portal she had for Summer. But it would take too long. And I knew where Salem's realm was...So I flew to there, and when I got to it..." he stopped abruptly when his throat simply closed. His eyes started to burn and he felt the tears appear. But it was not the time to get emotional.

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"I never thought I would ever be able to hate my semblance so badly." The Huntsman continued, blinking to hold back the saltwater in his eyes. " And then I had to get back home and look at your face, and not think about what I had just done. Not think about Summer. Suddenly, more and more fears started to show up. I mean, I was already careful with you because of my Semblance, but Summer always said that was foolish and that she was there to help me in case things didn't go well. And now, it was only me, you and my damn bad luck. If something happened to you because of it, I would never be able to forgive myself." His hands clenched into fists remembering how it felt, wanting to help someone but being the very reason they needed help in the first place. 

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"Even knowing that Tai was as broken as I was with her death, I thought it was better for you to grow up with someone who wasn't going to put your life in any danger. Some weeks after that, I came back to visit you, and he showed me your documents, with your name registered. I was mad, that he didn't tell it to me first, but was glad that he did what he promised to me. That he was going to keep you safe. It was probably for the best." After finishing, Qrow sighed, uncomfortable with how quiet Ruby was with all of this. 

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It was just shocking. Like if you're pinned against a rock and the waves come and strongly hit you multiple times. You're steady and firm, but the waves astonish you and make you feel lost. That's how Ruby was feeling. She needed time to make the waves cease. But weirdly, she was feeling more than only lost and surprised. 

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"That explains a lot." She whispered to herself, lowering her eyes to her calloused hands and not seeing the confuse glare that Qrow gave her for a few seconds. "You see, when more than two or three people say that you look more with your uncle than with your father, you start thinking about it." Ruby held her plastered hand, drawing circles with her fingertips over it as she spoke. "First I thought that was because you were my uncle and that I got it from your side of the family. But when I discovered that you wasn't actually my uncle, it annoyed me a little more. And It got me so curious that I considered asking you about it, but I realized that was silly and forgot about it." The Huntress lifted her face and looked over to her biological father, narrowing her eyes.

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They stood there in complete silence as the wind blowed on them again, shaking their dark hair and light clothes before one of them recovered the courage to speak one more time. 

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"If I had been brave enough to ask you, would you have told me?" With furrowed brows, Ruby waited for the answer. 

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"I would've probably averted from the subject." He was still not looking to his daughter, feeling ashamed of never having the guts to tell her before, for always hiding it from her, for everything. That feeling was even worse when Qrow realized that Ruby wasn't angry with him. She was holding herself to be calm and not scream on his face. Or that was what he thought.

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"And you never told me you're my—" The word got caught up in her throat, so the girl had to force it out. "— My biological father because you thought that Salem's henchmen would find me? That's why Taiyang pretended to be my father?" Ruby blinked when Qrow shrugged and shook his head. 

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"It wasn't part of the plan to pretend that Tai was your father. See, you learned how to talk with Yang. And she called Tay "dad" and called me "uncle" so you just did the same. Suddenly, when I got back from one of my missions you called me "uncle" and that was when I realized there was no going back. So I just followed with it. Though I spent one hour in the bathroom drinking and sobbing." A quick laugh escapes from his mouth when he remembered it all. It felt so dumb and sad at the same time. 

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Only now Ruby thought about Yang. How would she react at the fact that they were not sisters, but cousins? How could she even tell her about it? But after taking a deep breath and calming her nerves again, the Rose nodded to herself. They've been sisters even if they were only half related. So they were still going to be sisters now, no matter what. 

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Qrow finally looked up to Ruby and saw how quiet and pensive she was. He swallowed hard and started to turn around to walk away from the balcony and give her some time and space to think things through.

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"I know it's a lot to take in. I'll give you some space to—" Before the Branwen could escape, he felt a heavy hand grab his good wrist and looked to Ruby. Her plastered hand was holding him tightly as he looked dumbfounded at his daughter. 

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"No." She asked aloud, working the nerves to look at him straight in his eyes. "Can you just, stay for a bit?" And there she was, looking so much like her mother, and yet, so much like himself. 

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"You're not mad at me?" His eyebrows arched in surprise and curiosity when she quickly denied it by shaking her head.

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"Mad is not the right word. I'm—" Ruby interrupted herself to think for a moment, trying to find words that could describe exactly what she felt or that could get, at least, close to it. —"I'm just shocked. I mean, I'll need some time to put things in their places and Taiyang is still my dad, but you're my father. And I've already lost my mother. It would be a shame to lose another parent. I can have two fathers." She was still holding his arm, demanding his attention. 

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Qrow's expression melted into a smile. Even when he just told her that he'd been keeping a life-changing secret from her, she still wanted him to be there. He swallowed to hold back the tears and turned to his daughter again, leaning over the balcony and looking at the silver stars that flickered over them. 

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"Take your time. I can wait for you for as long as you need." He said quietly, thinking just how lucky he was turning to be now. 

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When she heard what her father said, Ruby stopped for a moment. Qrow was always impatient with things, wanting to do things whenever he wanted and not waiting for a second opinion before diving head first into something, and seeing him agree with waiting until she was ready to let the "uncle" aside and start calling him "father" or "dad" too was something that she never thought would make her feel so great. Without thinking twice, she wrapped her arms around him. 

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Qrow jumped when he felt Ruby hug him so suddenly, frozen for some seconds before hugging her back. He never imagined that she would ever accept him or even give him a chance after everything that happened and everything that he put her through. A warm feeling started to grow inside him. It was good to have his Petal back.

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**Author's Note:**

> yep. That was it. comment what you think about it and... yeah. see ya'.


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